John Munson/The Star-LedgerActing Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf, seen in this March 1 file photo, spoke at a community forum today about the search for a new Newark schools superintendent.

NEWARK — A community forum to update parents on the search for Newark’s next superintendent devolved into a screaming match over the efficacy of charter schools and a leaked proposal to consolidate some of the city’s failing schools.

The proposal, which came to light last month, recommends phasing out 10 Newark public schools and giving the freed-up space to charter schools, some of whose students perform no better than the district average on state tests.

Acting state Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf called the unintended release of the planning document a "highly regrettable" mistake. A consulting firm incorporated by Cerf was paid $500,000 to audit the district and draft the plan. Cerf, who is no longer associated with the firm, has said repeatedly he played no part in writing the proposal.

"This document was very, very unfortunately leaked into the world and grossly misreported and misperceived as a plan or a proposal. In fact, what it was was a selection of scenarios," Cerf said. "I want to apologize to the community for how it came into the world. It never should have happened that way, and I am sorry about that."

Newark interim Superintendent Deborah Terrell, however, said the controversial document had a silver lining in its ability to galvanize parents and community leaders around the need to reform the city’s schools.

"Anything that mobilizes this community is a good thing," Terrell said.

At moments during today’s meeting, however, the contested proposal seemed to be driving Newark’s parents apart. Charter school parents and district school parents sitting on opposite sides of the auditorium shouted at one another about the merits of charter schools.

"Instead of being mad at the people sitting up here, you should be mad at the teachers failing your children or at yourselves for not doing your job," a parent of a student who attends North Star Academy screamed at the district parents sitting across from her.

During an impassioned exchange with the crowd, Newark Public Schools Advisory Board Chairman Shavar Jeffries called this parental in-fighting a "gangster approach" to school reform.

When he was able to get to the planned agenda, Cerf gave new details about the search for Newark’s next superintendent. He said he has spoken with 20 to 30 contenders over the phone and has brought eight to 10 candidates before Newark’s school board leadership. All of the candidates being seriously considered have track records of success in education, Cerf said.

Executive search firm Spencer Stuart is aiding the state in its search and selection process, which Cerf said he hopes to have wrapped up on or about April 1

Cerf defended Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s involvement in the search process, saying that the mayor and two of his staff members have helped identify possible superintendent candidates.

"This is a powerful partnership," Cerf said. "Even though the state has legal authority over the district, the mayor has said, ‘Hold me accountable for results.’"

Though some forum attendees vociferously expressed their skepticism about the mayor’s participation in Newark’s school reform movement, most in attendance agreed on the need for change.

"Everyone in this room agrees we want a world class education for our babies," Jeffries said. "What we have now is educational genocide."